Trump Agrees To Three Debates With Harris, Creating Potential Election Showdown – Essence

Former President Donald Trump has agreed to participate in three presidential debates with Vice President Kamala Harris, ahead of the November election.

While Trump has committed to the debates, it remains unclear whether Harris will agree to the schedule Trump proposed. The debates are set to air on Fox News on Sept. 4, ABC on Sept. 10, and NBC on Sept. 25. The two parties had previously agreed to the ABC debate on Sept. 10.

“I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight,” Trump said Thursday at a news conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida. “I think it’s very important that we have them. I hope she agrees to them… I think they’ll be very revealing.” Trump also took a swipe at Harris, calling her a “bad debater.”

Trump’s decision to participate comes less than a week after he initially said he would pull out of the previously scheduled ABC debate on Sept. 10. He cited his withdrawal as a response to President Joe Biden’s exit from the race last month, following a poor debate performance against Trump. Trump also raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest with ABC, given his ongoing litigation against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos. The Harris campaign quickly capitalized on Trump’s cancellation, portraying the former president as “afraid to debate” in a series of attack ads.

“We were given Joe Biden and now we’re given somebody else,” Trump said Thursday. “And I think, frankly, I’d rather be running against the somebody else.”

Trump also confirmed that his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, would participate in a vice presidential debate on CBS. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has previously expressed eagerness to debate Vance, stating on Aug. 6, “And I gotta tell ya: I can’t wait to debate this guy.”

This is a developing story.